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Breaking a Leg on 'Your Big Break' AsianConnections is proud to present the adventures of Ben Fong-Torres, our Renaissance man, author, broadcaster, and longtime writer and senior editor at legendary Rolling Stone Magazine. This guy's our hero! There's even a major motion picture coming out this Fall 2000 featuring a character about Ben, written and directed by Cameron Crowe. (Cameron wrote and directed Tom Cruise in "Jerry Maguire.") - AC Team
Photo Courtesy (c) BVTV Not to give anything away, but I look really goofy, in a moment that's both surreal and, at the same time, forms yet another perfect circle in my life. Here's the deal: A new, nationally syndicated talent show, Your Big Break, went to various cities last summer and fall, looking for people who could impersonate famous music acts�of any generation, of any kind of music�as long as they were famous. From Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys to Sinatra and Otis Redding; from Dolly Parton to Elvis Presley to the Blues Brothers�they wanted everyday people to go on the show. I heard about the audition from friends at Yet Wah, the karaoke bar I frequent (slang for "get drunk at") in San Francisco. "C'mon," said Julie. "You can do your Elvis." "Or your Dylan," her boyfriend, Dave, whined, Dylan style. "Or maybe Dean Martin? Being not exactly shy, I agreed to show up for the tryouts one Saturday morning last August. Out of about 90 star-searchers, the show's producers ultimately picked three, informing the winners weeks later by letter: A guy who did a smooth Smokey Robinson; my friends Julie and Dave, who pulled off a comedic Sonny and Cher, and, to my amazement, me. Photo Courtesy (c) BVTV Besides my having done a song with a drug reference, I thought the show was trying to find people who had at least a passing resemblance to the artist being mimicked. I'd noticed that a white woman who'd done a great Aretha Franklin had been bypassed. How could a 50-something Chinese guy possibly be transformed into the 20-something Dylan of the mid-Sixties? Such are the mysteries of life and showbiz. I got the letter, and, in October, I flew to Hollywood for three days of preparation-- makeup, costuming, choreographer, and voice lessons�and the taping of our show. Three days. These guys were serious. We�five acts per show�would be competing for some cash and a recording contract. We'd be performing, with full production, including dancers and actors pretending to be playing instruments, before a live audience, in the NBC Studios in Burbank that once housed the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Weird. But I hadn't heard anything yet. The show assigned specific songs to the contestants, based on their availability and cost. My song, which I'd have to memorize, would be "Like a Rolling Stone." Ouch. That's one of Dylan's more convoluted compositions. Say this quick: "Aw! You never turned around to see the jugglers and the clowns when they all did their tricks for you; you never understood that it ain't no good, you shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you? And there was the matter of the song's title. I'm best known for my years as a writer and editor at Rolling Stone magazine. (Alert readers will note that "Like a Rolling Stone" is the name of this column, as it was when I wrote a column for the radio and music trade magazine, gavin.) At Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan was one of the most famous of my 400-something profiles, interviews, and other stories. The very first of those pieces was an item about Dick Clark, whose career has spanned American Bandstand (which he hosted for about a half-century) and Greed (He's the executive producer). I also did a front-page profile of him in 1973, in which he was blunt to the point that, now, he seems to regret his candor. "You know," he told me not long ago, "the writings you laid down still come back to haunt me." Anyway, Clark is also the executive producer of Your Big Break. That's what I meant about full circles: doing Dylan, singing "Like a Rolling Stone," on a show produced by Dick Clark. I had a great time at NBC Studios, and I survived my stint. But I like to think of this whole episode as Dick Clark's Revenge. You can see for yourself when the show airs the weekend of April 30 and 31 on about 180 stations around the country (mostly on UPN stations). The whole hour is pretty cool, with contestants being turned into R. Kelly, Elton John, Janis Joplin, and Earth Wind & Fire. And, although we are put into hairpieces and costumes, and surrounded with Hollywood production glitz, I like to think that we treat our songs�and the real artists behind them�with respect. You be the judge. Having already seen a tape, I won't be watching. I'll probably be�er, frequenting a karaoke bar. ____________________ So, what was it like preparing for, and performing on Your Big Break? Ben tells all�next time on AsianConnections.com! - AC Team Ben Fong-Torres, long-time writer and editor at Rolling Stone magazine, is the author of four books, including his memoirs, The Rice Room: Growing Up Chinese-American, and his latest, Not Fade Away: A Backstage Pass to 20 Years of Rock & Roll. He is Editorial Director of myplay.com, an Internet music site that offers free Web space, where users can grab, store, mix, play, and share music of all kinds. Click
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